June PolandPrint Page

The seat commemorates June Poland, a founding member of the Woollahra History and Heritage Society who died in 2013.

In the 1980s, when property developers wanted to turn Sydney's public spaces and buildings into offices and units, they didn't count on June Poland standing in front of the bulldozers, but she did. She was an amateur historian who knew where to find Sydney's colonial architectural heritage, but also spent half her lifetime rallying to protect it for future generations.

June Poland is perhaps best known for her relentless campaign to save Strickland House, Vaucluse, which started when the NSW government closed it as a public hospital in 1989 and prepared to sell off its land to developers.

June`s research unearthed an important document showing that the NSW government had purchased the house and surrounding land in 1914 to be dedicated as foreshore parkland. June spent 25 years to ensure the sandstone Victorian house and its 4.9-hectare harbour foreshore grounds were securely listed on the national and state heritage registers.

In honour of June Poland's contributions to heritage preservation, she (and Peter) received Woollahra Council's Citizen of the Year Award in 1995 and the New South Wales Government Heritage Volunteer Award in 2005.

In the 2015 Australia Day Honours,  she received a posthumous award of the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).   Her citation mentioned that she lobbied to protect the heritage of Carrara/Strickland House from 1988 to 2013 and the award was for service to the Woollahra Community.

Location

Address:	Vaucluse Road, Strickland House, Vaucluse, 2030
State:	NSW
Area:	AUS
GPS Coordinates:	Lat: -33.855896 Long: 151.268247 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.

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Details

Monument Type:	Seat
Monument Theme:	People
Sub-Theme:	Community

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:	Sunday 3rd May, 2015

Source: MA